Home

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Okay, so here it is. I named the piece Home Sweet Home, as a tribute to a new beginning. There's nothing more thrilling (and exhausting) than moving to a new home and adding your own special magic to make the place feel safe and warm.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

I'm moving again. It was going to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping for waaaay later...only because the thought of packing and unpacking my things makes me want to head for the hills. =___= And let me tell you, we artists have way too many little things to keep track of when moving.

So here's a shot of my messy art table (who is next on the list to go) with my still WIP from the last post. I hope once I get settled I will be able to finish it. T___T

p.s. Happy (late) Birthday to my cat, Yume. She passed away a couple of years back, but I never forget the day she came into this world~ Nov 1, 2001.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Finally! It feels like I've been away from my blog for too long. Glad to be back!

>___<

Here's a sneak peek of a w.i.p. commision piece for a close friend of mine. I was given the option of creating an 11x15 piece with a forest scene, lots of owls, deer and snails. Oh, and of course--my friend wanted her two cats to be present in the illustration. Whales were an option at one point, but sadly they were taken out :( Ah, well. I'll eventually do a whale piece for myself.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

I will be donating some of my illustrations to Cats Exclusive for the Dine & Donate event they hold during the year to benefit their cat rescue organization. I'm running a little behind on time, but "Family Tree" is one of many that will (hopefully) be auctioned off during the event. The pieces in Maneki Paw are inspired by my (almost irrational) love of cats, the folklore behind them, and will give the spotlight to many of our favorite feline breeds!

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Like I've mentioned before, little by little I've been working on a few projects. One of them was giving this blog a "new look." Once I was satisfied with my new title, I did some sketches and came up with this piece. Initially, the colors were horrible. They didn't match the mysterious atmosphere I was trying to convey. Eventually, it turned into this! ^___^ Yay!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Lately I've been diligently keeping up with my sketchbook rituals. Sometimes I even sneak a doodle here and there during work ^__^;

Below is a two-page spread of my 2011-2012 Sketchbook. I want to say this is my "official" first sketchbook, though I've had many others during High School and College. However, said sketchbooks are either lost (moving from one place to another, possibly thrown into one of many garbage bags) or too embarrassing to post >__<

This particular sketch started out with the girl painting by the window, then slowly progressed into adding "just a bit more" as the hours passed by. This spread is supposed to represent me (on the left) exhausted and sleeping on my bed after an artist's hard day at work--while my "creativity" (on the right) never sleeps.

***

This is yet another project I have given myself. I've always wanted to do my version of the zodiac signs...with cats! ﻿

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Kisa was pretty much sick this entire week. At some point, she stopped eating and even drinking water. She would even throw up almost every day! After staying overnight at the vet's, she made an amazing recovery. My little kiss-kiss is a trooper. >___<

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Okay, so my old art table made its way back to me on Sunday (a big thank you to Aby and her family!) all the way from North Carolina. After putting it together (not as easy as it sounds -___-), I placed both tables close together to create a bigger work space. Awesomeness!!

Friday, July 20, 2012

My new work station has a great view of the golf courses out back, but I'm still not warming up to it. It may have something to do with the copious amount of clutter all around my table. My aunt would say it's blocking my artistic chi or whatever. A trip to the store for crafty storage bins should solve this little hiccup. ^____^

***

Meanwhile, my awesome friend Aby is moving to Texas soon. When I made her a birthday card in June, I couldn't help but add some cacti.

***

I added another thing into my overflowing pile of TO DO box. Something I made for my grandmother a while back. This piece is watercolor and ink on watercolor paper, but I'm going to try adjusting the composition, changing the color palette and repainting it with gouache.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

I'm excited and scared, and I feel as though I have bats flapping around in my stomach. These past 18 months have, to say the least, been the most life-changing of all the times I'd been in Colombia. I'll never forget them, even if half of those experiences will leave a nasty scar. But that's life, right? You gotta keep going, even if you fall a couple of times along the way.

To Mom, I love you. You are a fighter and never change. We'll have lots of adventures when you move back to the U.S. A new beginning, just you, me and Jessy.

Grandma Nubia, I'll miss you. We almost lost you back there, but you managed to get back on your feet. Remember, smile! And you'll always be the domino champ!

To my aunt Lilian and cousin, Chente, keep those energies flowin'. Life is never dull when both of you are around.

To all the animals I raised in Villa Milena, live long and prosper! You'll always hold a special place in my heart.

Haru and Yuki, never change. Ever.

Kiba and Noa, live happy, long, kitty lives. Thanks for all the fur on my clothing.

Finally, to Ruben--may you find happiness, prosperity and (pleeeease) stay out of trouble. Forgiveness is also something I learned throughout this trip.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Back in College, Color Fundamentals was my favorite class (aside from Narrative Drawing, of course ^__^). Last night, I decided to go back to basics and challenge myself with a couple of color exercises I learned from this experience. In this very class, I was introduced to Gouache and decided it would become my favorite medium to work with. When I left school, however, I began to neglect my love for Gouache completely. Worse, now whenever I find myself ready to paint, I am hesitant about my color choices and feel dissatisfied with the results afterwards.Well, no more! This week is all about homework. Rigorous color studies until my hand falls off. Just one step closer to a portfolio I can be proud of.

I started with a Basic Color Wheel, then moved on to Tints, Shades, Hues, etc. On the top left, I studied all the shades of blue I had (Ultramarine Deep, Winsor Blue, etc) and mixed them with two yellows (Fluorescent and Primary). Then, I split a circle and mixed the result with white, then black. I'll be doing these for other colors and working out combinations to see what works best. Yeah, yeah, I'm taking the long way, but it'll be worth it.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I love doodling. You never know what's going to crawl out of your brain, especially when your hand's on auto pilot. I did this one a while back. It wasn't supposed to mean anything, but as I was flipping through my sketchbook a couple of days ago, something about it caught my interest. After tweaking the drawing with a micropen, I wondered what would happen if I gave this little guy a story.

Here's a glimpse of what I've done so far...

I'm still a little iffy about the plot, but the main character is a small boy who happens to stumble upon a quest. Many terrible and wonderous adventures await!

On another note, something random: logo designs. Just something I did back when I used to work at a sushi place.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

It's been a while since my last post (wow, exactly three months today! O__o) but, in my defence, it's been a rather bumpy transition into the new year... =___=

First off, the upsides: moving back to the U.S. this March. After an 18 month absence, I'll finally be able to see my sister and best friends again (yay!). Along with this long awaited reunion, A/C will be a part of my life once more. Bliss! Also, English-speaking movie releases. I miss those!!! I had to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 1 & 2 in Spanish! The horror...

Now, the downsides:
Because of certain circumstances, I can't take Noa and Kiba with me to the U.S. With a heavy heart, I've given them away to good homes. I will miss them terribly, those crazy furballs. On a happy note, the person who adopted Noa and the person who adopted Kiba are neighbors!

Along with the holidays, I was hired to do some paintings to sell. Here are a few:

On December 28th, I was given five duck eggs. I placed them under one of my hens so she could incubate and eventually two were born. I helped them come out of their shell, but because the hen rejected them I was given the role of Mother Duck -__-

(yes, they imprinted and follow me wherever I go.)

This is what their tiny world looks like on the inside. I am humbled by the complexity of nature and its ability to make everything fit just right. Living here has inspired and given me a plethora of ideas to convey through my illustrations. I can't wait to get started!

Three days old! The male's name is Tuesday (on the right) and the female (left), Wednesday.

This is them at two weeks. The one in the back is Tuesday. He is the biggest and the loudest of the two. Wednesday is shy and hardly makes a peep, except when her brother strays too far from her.

Well, that's that. Looking forward to 2012 and the many projects I'll be stumbling through along the way.